House price growth in the year to September 2018 by region; The highest growth in house prices was in the West Midlands (+6.1%) & East Midlands (+6.0%). London house prices fell by 0.3% over the year & annual growth in #London has fallen each month since March 2018.#ukhousingpic.twitter.com/zrELeTXftE

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is calling for the Government to review the section 8 possession process as the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announces their call for evidence to consider the case for a Housing Court.

The section 8 possession process requires landlords to seek a court order to gain possession of their property where the tenant has breached the terms of their tenancy agreement. However, tenants can challenge the possession claim and remain in the property.

For the successful possession claims, there is an average period of 18 weeks between claims and repossessions¹, which can cost up to £355 per claim² in court fees alone. The landlord also has to cover legal costs and may face losses when tenants are in arrears and stop paying rent. The NLA’s latest survey of landlords shows that it can take an average of 145 days to regain possession of a property at a cost of £5,730³.

Rent arrears is the most common reason for a landlord to file a section 8 possession claim. The NLA’s landlords panel found that 36 percent of landlords experienced rent arrears and 15 percent have sought to regain possession in the last year³.

The alternative to section 8 is section 21, where no reason is needed and gives tenants two months’ notice. However, this can only be used after a fixed-term tenancy ends or during a periodic tenancy. Landlords often serve both notices simultaneously as it provides greater certainty of vacant possession. This can be vital when a landlord needs to sell the property or move in themselves.

Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, says:

“As it stands, the system is failing and needs urgent reform. Landlords are forced to rely on section 21 ‘no fault’ notices, even when there is a breach in tenancy. This is essentially a sticking plaster covering the fundamental issue – that the section 8 process is no longer fit for purpose.

The latest annual report from @Fixflo reveals that the fees ban could entirely wipe out some agents profits, with half of agents believing they will lose between 10% and 30% of their revenue https://t.co/YMBW1Lm3Yb

New from @mhclg Councils to share £2m funding to crackdown on rogue landlords: https://t.co/p8PG4us3i5 - while welcome, councils really need secure up-front funding for enforcement, not just one-off pots to bid for

Our Policy Director David Smith responds to today's announcement that those landlords in properties with an energy performance rating of F or G will be expected to pay up to £3,500 to improve the energy efficiency rating of the property > https://t.co/QmxHN2QqXr@hmolawyer

Year on year, the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes continued to rise. 31% of renters saw their payments increase in September 2018, compared to 27% in 2017 and 24% in 2016 https://t.co/U1mF0cXTG1